29 March 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

Urartian King Argishti’s shield reveals the name of an unknown country

The inscription on a bronze shield purchased by the Rezan Has Museum revealed the name of an unknown country.

It is thought that the bronze shield belonging to the Urartian King Argişti was found within the borders of Ağrı-Patnos or Muş in eastern Turkey.

At the panel “Evaluations on the Urartian Collection of Rezan Has Museum,” organized by Kadir Has University, Van Yüzüncü Yıl University Faculty Member Associate Professor Orhan Varol said they had identified the name of a previously unknown country on the bronze shield belonging to Argişti, one of the Urartian kings.

Associate Professor Orhan Varol said that on the bronze shield belonging to Argişti, one of the Urartian kings and currently in Rezan Has Museum, the existence of a new country called Qarini, written with the KUR ideogram, which is the country sign, was detected.

Bronze shield of King Argişti Courtesy of Kadir Has University Rezan Has Museum
Bronze shield of King Argişti Courtesy of Kadir Has University Rezan Has Museum

Orhan Varol, who stated that most of the Urartian inscriptions consisted of the military campaigns and victories of the kings inscribed on stone blocks such as andesite, basalt, and limestone, or on rocky areas, said, “We also get information about war and victory in Urartian war tools. It is understood that besides the use of Urartian shields on the battlefield, they could also function as a badge of victory for the kings. It is sometimes indicated on the shield that the conquered country or weapon of war was dedicated to the chief god. In the hands of the king or a great warrior, the shield, which plays an important role in winning the war, gains a symbolic meaning and value by being processed in cuneiform,” said.

The shield is 40 centimeters wide. Apart from the inscription, there are dotted and curved stripes on the surface of the shield.

The shield contains new information about Urartian expansion during King Argishti’s reign, as well as Urartu’s linguistic features.

Van Yüzüncü Yıl University faculty member Assoc. Dr. Orhan Varol. Photo: Arkeonews

The Urartians adapted the Assyrian cuneiform writing system. All the rulers except Sarduri I wrote in Urartu. Except for Sarduri I. his son Ishpuini (r. ca. 830–810 B.C.) and later rulers all wrote in the Urartian language (distantly related to the isolated non-Indo-European, non-Semitic Hurrian language).

Argishti I. was the sixth known king of Urartu, reigning from 786 BC to 764 BC. He conquered the northern part of Syria and made Urartu the most powerful state in post-Hittite Asia Minor. He also expanded the borders of the country up to the Caucasus.

From early in the Urartian kingdom’s history, very characteristic artifacts were manufactured, including hundreds of bronze belts along with shields, quivers, helmets, bells, horse equipment, jewelry, and ceramic and metal vessels of many forms. Many of these artifacts bear royal inscriptions and are decorated with characteristic motifs and scenes, which consist of various deities and composite otherworldly creatures, royal rituals, hunts, battles, and genre scenes.

A detailed study on the bronze shield and the Qarini settlement will be published soon by Van Yüzüncü Yıl University Faculty Members Prof. Dr. Rafet Çavuşoğlu and Associate Dr. Orhan Varol.

Banner
Related Post

Last Assyrian Capital “Ninive”

7 February 2021

7 February 2021

Ninive is an ancient Assyrian city located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River in northern Iraq, near today’s...

New discoveries have been made at a 9,000-year-old Amida mound in Turkey

1 January 2022

1 January 2022

The most recent archeological investigations at the 9,000-year-old Amida Mound in southeastern Turkey’s Diyarbakir province have uncovered fresh finds that...

Could the Kerkenes Settlement be Gordion the Second?

1 August 2022

1 August 2022

Although the settlement on the Kerkenes mountain, located within the borders of Sorgun district of Yozgat, has been known and...

Fingerprints Found on Orkney Pottery Belong to Young Men

14 June 2021

14 June 2021

Details of the two young guys whose fingerprints were discovered on a fragment of a clay pot dating back over...

The 1,000-year-old surgical kit found in Sican tomb, Peru

28 March 2022

28 March 2022

A set of surgical tools indicating that the deceased was a surgeon was found in a funerary bundle found in...

Ancient tomb chamber discovered in north China

3 January 2022

3 January 2022

Archaeologists have unearthed a tomb with a stone outer coffin dating back to the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) in north...

Artifacts for sale offered at a Dutch auction house returned to Peru

9 July 2021

9 July 2021

The Dutch government announced in a press release today that the artifacts that were put up for sale at an...

East and West Meeting at the King’s Dinner Table

7 April 2021

7 April 2021

Researchers from Tezukayama University and the Uzbekistan Archaeological Institute reported that a food pantry about 37 feet long and 10...

Largest-Known Flower Preserved in Amber Is Nearly 40 Million Years Old

20 January 2023

20 January 2023

The largest-known fossilized flower encased in amber, dating back nearly 40 million years, was again discovered in the Baltic region...

British archaeologists unearth the 1200-year-old man-made island

13 February 2022

13 February 2022

A team holding excavations and archaeological surveys on the historic Al Sayah Island in Muharraq, Bahrain found that it’s ‘man-made’,...

Unique tombs wrapped in high-quality fabrics and painted bodies were discovered at monumental temple in Peru

11 March 2023

11 March 2023

Unique tombs wrapped in high-quality fabrics and painted bodies were discovered at the monumental temple in Peru. Located on the...

Iron Age comb found made from human skull in UK

2 March 2023

2 March 2023

Researchers from the London Archaeological Museum (MOLA) determined that an Iron Age comb they found during an archaeological dig that...

China’s 4300-Year-Old Ancient Pyramids

26 March 2021

26 March 2021

Shaanxi Province in Northwest China is famous for its rich archaeological treasures. Among the many sites discovered in Shaanxi, the...

From Hittite Bit-Hilani’s to Ancient Greek Temple Pillars

18 February 2021

18 February 2021

It is thought that the word Bit-Hilani is derived from the Hittite word Hilambar, that is door. It is seen...

Viking Family identified using New DNA Technology

9 June 2021

9 June 2021

Researchers were able to confirm the connection between two Viking remains discovered in Denmark and England thanks to new DNA...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *